a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

The Boys are Back in Town, Part 2

Going to dinner tonight:
Q: Have you kept in touch with any of them?Deron: Yeah, I talk to Ronnie and Kyle a lot. I haven’t really talked to Booz. I talk to those guys frequently. Going to dinner with them tonight.
Q: Who’s buying?Deron: [shrugs] Figure it out when we get there.

Q: Who are you going to dinner with tonight?Kyle: [hesitates] Ah…I think we’re still rounding the crew up. It’ll be a few guys.
Q: And you’re picking up the tab, obviously.Kyle: I think I’m the guest. I think somebody else will pick up the tab tonight.

Q: What are you going to do tonight?Boozer: I’m just going to relax, chill out, probably go watch a movie, and get ready for the game tomorrow.

DWill vs DRose:
Q: [Game 7, last shot] Who would you rather have back there with you?Boozer: I’m taking DRose…To me, he’s very proven this season. I’m really proud of what he’s been able to accomplish at a young age, and I’m taking DRose!

Q: Talk about Deron and Derrick [Rose]…Personality-wise, are they extremely different as Carlos said?[ME: I would say yes, since Deron has one.]Ronnie B: Totally different. DWill, he jokes around, he clowns a little bit but at the same time he’s serious on the court. That’s about the only similarity I see between the two guys. On the court, they’re serious, they’re all about business, they want to win. They’ll do anything it possibly takes to win the game. DRose is one of the fastest, most athletic guys and can finish at the rim better than any perimeter player/guard, I think, in the game right now. And DWill’s like the ultimate floor general, be able to operate and tell guys where they gotta be and knowing where guys gonna be before they’re even there. There were times when I was here that I’d cut and not see an opening and I’d look up and the ball would already be [there]…Other than both playing point guard, to me that’s the only similarity.[ME: Do you see? Do you see how Ronnie was unable to say one single word about DRose’s personality? Can’t describe things that don’t exist.]

Q: How are Deron and Derrick different personality-wise?Kyle: Uh…Derrick’s quieter. You know, um…[long pause] just a lot quieter? [cracks up]…um [pause] Derrick has, uh, you know, he’s, uh, he speaks up when he has to.[ME: Resting my case]

Time in Utah:
Q: What do you miss most about Utah?Kyle: I miss the mountains. Seriously. I’m going to borrow a car and just drive around for a little while. I’m dead serious.

Q: You really didn’t want to leave, did you?Ronnie B: Yeah. I got drafted here, they made a sacrifice picking me so high. I developed here and made some good friends here, built a good relationship with the coaches and just felt like we had a good thing here. Unfortunate we had to part ways and I think both parties did it for the best.

Miscellaneous:
Q: Any trash talking during the game tomorrow?Ronnie B: No. Maybe a hard foul here or there but I don’t think it’s going to be too much trash talking. I think we’re just gonna play the game and respect it, and each team is going to try to come up with the win.

Q: How much did it help you transition to Chicago with having Kyle and Boozer on the team?Ronnie B: It made it a whole lot easier. Utah traffic is a whole lot different than Chicago traffic, and so Kyle was going through the same terror stories I was going through being all nervous not trying to be late for tips. On the court, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so that made it a lot easier.

Kyle: It’s going to be an interesting game. We run half the Utah sets now; we put in half the offense, so there’s gonna be a lot of guys that know the plays inside tomorrow on both ends.

[And this one’s in honor of Carlos “I’m a starter” Boozer being back in Utah:]
Q: Do you prefer starting or coming off the bench?CJ: Either one, actually. Doesn’t matter. As long as I can get on the floor, as long as I can help my team, it’s not a big deal.
(KZNS audio)